The Fountain Hills High School football team lost a hard-fought battle with Payson Friday, Sept. 15.

The Falcons slip to 2-3 halfway through the 2023 season, but they hope to bounce back in the homecoming game against Gilbert Christian (3-2) Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m.

“We’re trying to lay the groundwork for many seasons to come, so it’s just the very start of it.” first year head coach Pete Schermerhorn said. “We’re trying to install our process and the expectations that go along with the process that will lead to long- term sustained success. So, five games in is a really small sample size, and really kind of a small piece of the program.”

Both the Falcons and Longhorns played fiercely in the Battle of the Beeline, and it was largely a defensive match up. The Falcons held Payson to 124 passing yards with just over 50% accuracy on 25 attempts. Senior Nate Barnard recovered one fumble, and senior Isaiah Challman caught an interception in the endzone right before halftime.

The Falcons stopped Payson on fourth down in the second half but also had their own turnover issues late in the game.

Senior Jaxson Butcher kicked a 37- yard field goal to put the Falcons up 3-0 with 1:38 left in the second quarter, and sophomore Breyden LeDrew set up the score with a 30-yard gain on third down. The ball bounced off the intended receiver’s hands and LeDrew was in position to make his first catch of the season.

“Anytime you’re up three to nothing at the half, you’re probably involved in a game with two pretty evenly matched teams,” Schermerhorn said. “I thought they played really well on defense, for the most part, and then we struggled to get anything consistent going on offense and any kind of rhythm going, but you have to give Payson credit for that. Their defense was very aggressive and disruptive.”

Payson struggled to get in an offensive rhythm, too, and only scored on explosive plays. Payson returned a kickoff for a touchdown to start the second half and scored on a 60-yard run with less than four minutes left to play. Take that big run away, and the Falcons held Payson to less than 3.5 yards per carry.

The Falcons allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown for a second straight week, but they recognized and recovered an on-side kick to start the game against Payson. Schermerhorn said they had a freshman and sophomore up front that made the play.

The Falcon offense had some success, and junior quarterback Sam Barnard was better at spreading around the ball. Challman, LeDrew and seniors Gannon Young and Jaxson Butcher all had receptions for 15 yards or more. Senior running back Canon Lipps also added valuable yards on the ground and in the air. Barnard took several hits behind the line of scrimmage, but was able to show speed escaping from the pocket. His longest run of the night went for 16 yards on third down.

After Thursday night football, the Falcons will host Blue Ridge on Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. The Falcons travel to Show Low on Friday, Oct. 6, and kickoff at 7 p.m.

“We always want to have that growth mentality, and trying to improve and I thought we did some things offensively towards the end of the Payson game that we can certainly build on,” Schermerhorn said.